Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Quote of the Day: Zhang Xiaoming

Zhang is concerned about Hong Kong separatists getting too much air time

Zhang Xiaoming, the central government's liaison office director in Hong Kong, has weighed in on the controversy this week of candidates for the upcoming Legislative Council elections, having to sign a second form to show they understood China to have complete sovereignty over the city.

The first form makes the declaration that candidates would pledge allegiance to the Basic Law.

So far some 20 pan-democrats and localists have refused to sign the second form.

Today at an event, Zhang said: "If Hong Kong independence advocates are allowed to turn the run-up to the Legco election into a process of proactive promotion of independence, or even allow them to enter Legco gloriously, does this comply with the 'one country, two systems' principle, the Basic Law and the principle of the rule of law?"

Seems like the senior Chinese official has forgotten what "one country, two systems" is -- that while Hong Kong is a part of China, it follows its own rule of law, which enshrines freedom of speech for its residents.

Therefore, candidates for the upcoming elections should be able to exercise their right to say whatever they want, barring libellous remarks.

And think about it -- how many votes will these separatists get in the big scheme of things? There are so many pan-democratic and localist groups, that they are splitting the votes among themselves, which increases the chances of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong or DAB to continue to dominate Legco.

So what is there to worry about?

However, Zhang is using scare tactics to get the older generation concerned about Hong Kong's future, when it seems like Beijing is trying to manipulate the outcome when it doesn't need any changes...